NORDIC NOW! — A Nordic Folk Celebration to Take Place At Scandinavia House

This January and February, Scandinavia House in New York will present performances by four of the leading acts in contemporary Nordic folk music. On Saturday, January 10 and Sunday, January 11, Scandinavia House presents NORDIC NOW!, a two-day program featuring three acts - FRÄNDER, Teho. and Päivi Hirvonen Trio - whose music pushes the boundaries of the Nordic folk genre, incorporating modern twists and elements of world music. All acts will perform on both days from 3-6 PM in Scandinavia House's Victor Borge Hall (58 Park Avenue, NYC). And on Thursday, February 13, folk music programming continues with Swedish folk artists the Lena Jonsson Trio, whose music has been hailed as "one of the best crafted 'new traditions' compilations I've heard in a long time" (The Living Tradition).

FRÄNDER blends Swedish and Estonian folk traditions with a modern twist and a "heavy folk" style, performing evocative melodies and unique sounds on traditional acoustic instruments. Their latest album, FRÄNDER II, has pushed the boundaries of folk music and wowed audiences worldwide, from Scandinavia to Japan to Canada to the U.S. Finnish power-fiddle duo Teho. combines Nordic fiddling styles, jazzy influences and composed, contemporary folk music with a touch of Finnish madness. Artists Tero Hyväluoma and Esko Järvelä have played together for years in various different projects, including in the well-known Finnish folk band Frigg. Their debut album was nominated for an Emma Award (a Finnish Grammy).

Päivi Hirvonen is one of Finland's emerging international folk music artists and a pioneer in simultaneous violin playing and singing. The themes of her songs range from childlessness and polyamory, to sorrow and love, blending diverse roots of folk music and pop culture influences with a touch of gothic mystique. Her live ensemble features Tero Pajunen and Mirva Ormin, and her third album is set to be released this spring.

Folk music programming will continue on Thursday, February 13 with a performance by Swedish folk artists the Lena Jonsson Trio. Acclaimed for their unique mix of deeply rooted Swedish folk, jazz, American old-time and electroacoustic sounds, the trio has been the recipient of awards including Artist of the Year at the Swedish Folk awards. Led by the visionary musician Lena Jonsson alongside guitarist Erik Ronström and bassist Krydda Sundström, the virtuosic and playful trio's album Stories from the Outside won both a Swedish Grammis and the Manifest prize in 2021. Stories from the Outside also won Album of the year by LIRA Music Magazine and song of the year by Swedish radio. They released their third album Elements in June 2023.